The Best New Year’s Eve Party Recipes & Appetizers

Hosting Guide: How Much Food Do You Need?

Before we get to the recipes, here is my golden rule for catering:

Prep Ahead: Choose recipes (like my dips and meatballs) that can be prepped the morning of. Check the dietary requirements of all guest ahead of time. There is nothing worse than finding out someone has a peanut allergy and you have just made everything in peanut oil! This is my golden advise. I have some friends that are sensitive to dairy, onion and garlic, my favorite things! So be prepared for anything.

The “Rule of 6”: For a standard cocktail party, estimate 6 appetizer bites per person per hour for the first two hours.

Variety: Aim for a mix of hot, cold, heavy, and light options. And if your guest have a sweet tooth check out my Nutella day inspired recipes.

The “Morning After” Cleanup Guide (Read This Before You Start!)

Hosting is fun; cleaning up sticky wing sauce is not. Over the years, I’ve found a few hacks to make the “day after” painless so you can start the New Year relaxing, not scrubbing. Let’s be real—the only thing worse than a hangover is a sink full of sticky dishes!

1. The “Soak” Rule (For Sticky Glazes) Those Honey Buffalo Wings and Spinach Dip are delicious, but they bake onto pans like cement.

• The Hack: Before you go to bed, fill your dirty platters with hot water and a dryer sheet (yes, really!). The conditioning agents soften the baked-on sugar overnight. In the morning, the mess wipes right off.

2. Lipstick on Champagne Flutes Dishwashers often fail at removing long-wear lipstick from delicate flutes.

• The Hack: Don’t scrub and risk breaking them. Rub the rim gently with a little coarse salt and a damp cloth before washing. It works like an exfoliant for the glass.

3. The Glitter/Confetti Nightmare If you popped confetti poppers, you probably have glitter in your rug.

• The Hack: A vacuum often just blows it around. Wrap duct tape or packing tape around a paint roller (sticky side out) and roll it over your rugs or sofas. It picks up every sparkle in seconds.

4. Get Rid of the “Party Smell” Stale beer and onion dip odors? No thanks.

• The Simmer Pot: Instead of chemical sprays, throw a sliced lemon, a sprig of rosemary, and a vanilla bean into a pot of water. Simmer it on the stove for 30 minutes. Your house will smell like a Williams Sonoma store instantly.

More Party Collections

Planning Ahead? Don’t forget to save my Spooky Halloween Recipe Ideas for next year!

Or if a large party is not your thing, I have come up with a couples romantic date night recipe menu builder here.